Remember that guy who stole a laptop and had his pictures posted all over the internet by victim Joshua Kaufman? Well consider justice served. Muthanna Aldebashi of Alameda was arrested yesterday by Oakland police on suspicion of possessing stolen goods.
Kaufman mentioned on the Tumblr that despite filing a police report and providing the laptop’s location along with photos of the suspect, he received absolutely no help from the authorities. Only after his Tumblr went viral (over two months after the incident was first reported) did the OPD take any action on Kaufman’s behalf.
So what was their excuse? According to SF Gate, despite being presented with ample evidence, the investigator responsible gave higher priority to other stolen goods and that the case was “incorrectly closed”. In other words, they didn’t have one. Give yourselves a pat on the back, internet. This never could have happened without your support.
Police spokeswoman Holly Joshi had this to say about the case, “It shows that when the system works, it works great. The diligence of Mr Kaufman is exactly what we need – people who are engaged and are making an effort to reduce crime.” Sorry, Ms. Joshi but what we “need” is for police officers to do their jobs. It shouldn’t take a couple million page views for this to happen. [SF Gate]
Image from Josh Kaufman